{"id":33229,"date":"2013-06-20T07:02:55","date_gmt":"2013-06-20T11:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?post_type=feature&p=33229"},"modified":"2016-01-09T05:35:21","modified_gmt":"2016-01-09T10:35:21","slug":"why-you-should-support-the-nyc-soda-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Support The NYC Soda Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fall of 2012, New York City introduced the newest of its health regulations:\u00a0 a rule against restaurants serving sodas, or any other sugary drink, in sizes over 16 ounces.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t mean this as the end of soda (although the New York City health department might have thought that would be a good idea.) Large bottles of soda would still be available in \u00a0grocery stores, and convenience stores like 7-11 are exempted from the rule.\u00a0 And, if you really want 32 ounces (or more!) of soda, you could buy an extra 16-ounce soda or two in the very same restaurant that isn\u2019t allowed to sell you a single 32-ounce soda.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even so, there was a huge outcry about this. Many people think that drinking large sodas is a personal decision, because it doesn\u2019t, on the face of it, hurt anyone else. And when it comes to personal decisions, the argument goes, people should be left to do as they see fit:\u00a0 if they choose wisely, great.\u00a0 If they don\u2019t, they\u2019re still choosing what they want, so let them make whatever unwise or unhealthy choice suits them–it\u2019s their life.\u00a0 So, it was argued, the New York City Health Department, and Mayor Bloomberg in particular, since he is known to have promoted a number of similar regulations, should mind their own business.<\/p>\n

This response, though, ignores a lot of what really is going on with consumers.\u00a0 The idea behind the NYC soda ban is to restrict access to large sodas because they are widely seen as contributing to obesity and the prevalence of diabetes. Sodas are something of a double whammy:\u00a0 sugary drinks are thought to contribute directly to the development of Type 2 diabetes by themselves, and they also contribute to obesity, which in turn, contributes to Type 2 diabetes.\u00a0 Type 2 diabetes is by far the most prevalent form of diabetes, and the number of cases has increased shockingly in recent years. That increase has paralleled the increase in obesity, and the increase in obesity has in turn coincided with an increase in serving sizes in restaurants, particularly in fast food restaurants.\u00a0 Furthermore, Type 2 diabetes has been increasingly diagnosed in teenagers and children, who, of course, are notoriously fond of junk food, and perhaps especially of soda.\u00a0 So the reasons for the large soda ban is that it seems like a relatively quick and easy way to cut down on the number of calories people consume, and in particular on the number of sugary calories they consume, and that in turn will help avoid diabetes and other diseases to which obesity contributes.<\/p>\n

What does this say about the argument that we should let people choose what they want, as long as it doesn\u2019t hurt anybody else?\u00a0 Well, first, of course, if one person has diabetes that can<\/em> hurt others\u2014it can hurt their families, their employers, and in the long run it can hurt other citizens, who may suffer from their loss of productivity, or for whom the cost of health care may go up.\u00a0 So it isn\u2019t entirely a \u201cpersonal\u201d choice, in the sense of one that has no repercussions for others. More important, though, is the fact that the people who are choosing the health-endangering supersized sodas aren\u2019t <\/em>really choosing what they want.\u00a0 That is, they are voluntarily choosing large sodas, but only because they don\u2019t know about, or aren\u2019t thinking clearly about, the consequences.<\/p>\n

Now, drinking a lot of large sodas definitely doesn\u2019t guarantee that you will get Type 2 diabetes, but it does raise that probability, and for most of us, I don\u2019t think having an extra large soda is worth even that. Drinking a huge amount of soda isn\u2019t really what we want, because while we like the taste of soda, what we want much more is\u00a0 to have long and healthy lives.<\/p>\n

If we\u2019d rather be healthy than drink large sodas, though, why do we drink large sodas?\u00a0 A number of factors come into play.\u00a0 For one thing, we tend to eat all of what is in front of us, unless we actively dislike it. Psychologists have discovered that lot of our eating is \u201cmindless<\/a>\u201d\u2014that is, if we\u2019re given a smaller portion, we eat\u00a0 it all and are fine with that, but if we\u2019re given the larger portion we eat all of that, too.\u00a0 We\u2019re not finishing our plate or cup because of a strong positive desire, but just because it\u2019s there.\u00a0 That\u2019s why it\u2019s unlikely that we\u2019d follow a 16-ounce soda with a second trip to the counter to get another 16-ounce soda, even though we could\u2014we don\u2019t really want that much soda.\u00a0 We drink it anyway when we\u2019ve got it, because after a certain point, we\u2019re eating and drinking from inertia.<\/p>\n

At the same time as we consume mindlessly, the good reasons we have not<\/em> to consume often aren\u2019t that clear to us. Psychologists have discovered that we all suffer from what they call cognitive biases:\u00a0 tendencies, in certain situations, to make mistakes that can hurt us.\u00a0 For example, we engage in what they call \u201cwishful thinking:\u201d\u00a0 that is, we\u00a0 believe that if we\u2019re doing something, it can\u2019t actually be that bad.\u00a0 Since we\u2019re used to eating junk food and drinking a lot of soda, we just can\u2019t believe that it can cause damage.\u00a0 We suffer from \u201ctime-discounting,\u201d where we don\u2019t see vividly how much we will care about our future when we get there\u2014so we favor the present, as if the future won\u2019t really happen.\u00a0 We do something called anchoring, where we base a generalization on a fact that isn\u2019t really that relevant:\u00a0 so we say we ate junk food and soda in the past without getting diabetes, so it won\u2019t happen in the future, even though (rationally) we know the cumulative effect of food habits that didn\u2019t hurt us once can still hurt us in the long run.<\/p>\n

These biases aren\u2019t signs of stupidity. They are normal glitches in the ways normal people think, glitches whose source we don\u2019t really understand, but which have been proven time and time again to exist. People who expect us, all on our own, to do everything we need to avoid getting diabetes, or everything we need to treat it once we\u2019ve got it, are just unrealistic. That\u2019s not how people\u2019s minds work.<\/p>\n

Given that, rules that prevent us from drinking very large sodas are actually helping us get what we ourselves want:\u00a0 a healthy life. \u00a0When it comes to food choices, expecting super-human knowledge, and super-human self-restraint, isn\u2019t respectful of individual choice; it\u2019s downright cruel. We don\u2019t leave people on their own when it comes to potentially dangerous medicines: we require prescriptions. Now it turns out that food can be dangerous, too, if we eat too much of certain things, and having a few laws about healthy eating is not only acceptable, it\u2019s a really good idea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The idea behind the NYC soda ban is to restrict access to large sodas because they are widely seen as contributing to obesity and the prevalence of diabetes. Sodas are something of a double whammy: sugary drinks are thought to contribute directly to the development of Type 2 diabetes by themselves, and they also contribute to obesity, which in turn, contributes to Type 2 diabetes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":33258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1449,1541],"tags":[600],"yoast_head":"\nWhy You Should Support The NYC Soda Ban<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The idea behind the NYC soda ban is to restrict access to large sodas because they are widely seen as contributing to obesity and the prevalence of diabetes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sarah Conly\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229\",\"name\":\"Why You Should Support The NYC Soda Ban\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/iStock_Soda.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-20T11:02:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-01-09T10:35:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/bf2f5dd78bfb6f0b319790ea0bcabe37\"},\"description\":\"The idea behind the NYC soda ban is to restrict access to large sodas because they are widely seen as contributing to obesity and the prevalence of diabetes.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/iStock_Soda.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/iStock_Soda.jpg\",\"width\":847,\"height\":567,\"caption\":\"NYC Soda Ban\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why You Should Support The NYC Soda Ban\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/bf2f5dd78bfb6f0b319790ea0bcabe37\",\"name\":\"Sarah Conly\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0dd087636323cbfdef8d16b2f3b555b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0dd087636323cbfdef8d16b2f3b555b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sarah Conly\"},\"description\":\"Sarah Conly teaches philosophy at Bowdoin College. She is the author of Against Autonomy: Justifying Coercive Paternalism (Cambridge University Press, 2013.) She received her BA from Princeton University and her Ph.D. from Cornell.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=73\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why You Should Support The NYC Soda Ban","description":"The idea behind the NYC soda ban is to restrict access to large sodas because they are widely seen as contributing to obesity and the prevalence of diabetes.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sarah Conly","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229","name":"Why You Should Support The NYC Soda Ban","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/iStock_Soda.jpg","datePublished":"2013-06-20T11:02:55+00:00","dateModified":"2016-01-09T10:35:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/bf2f5dd78bfb6f0b319790ea0bcabe37"},"description":"The idea behind the NYC soda ban is to restrict access to large sodas because they are widely seen as contributing to obesity and the prevalence of diabetes.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/iStock_Soda.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/iStock_Soda.jpg","width":847,"height":567,"caption":"NYC Soda Ban"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=33229#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why You Should Support The NYC Soda Ban"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/bf2f5dd78bfb6f0b319790ea0bcabe37","name":"Sarah Conly","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0dd087636323cbfdef8d16b2f3b555b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0dd087636323cbfdef8d16b2f3b555b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sarah Conly"},"description":"Sarah Conly teaches philosophy at Bowdoin College. She is the author of Against Autonomy: Justifying Coercive Paternalism (Cambridge University Press, 2013.) She received her BA from Princeton University and her Ph.D. from Cornell.","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=73"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33229"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}